Lawn-sprinkler



UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE VILLIAM RUNDQUIST, OF ELGIN, ILLINOIS.

LAWN-SPRINKLER SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 562,245, dated June 16, 1896.

Application led March 26, 1894. Serial No. 505,125. (No model.)

To all whom, t may concern/,-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM RUNDQUIs'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Elgin, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lawn-Sprinklers; and I do hereby declare the following` to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in lawn-sprinklers of that class which employ a fixed shell having a peculiarly-disposed passage or passages through which the water, under pressure, is conducted in a manner to break up the stream and produce a spray that is thrown and projected for considerable distances all around the sprinkler; and the object of the present improvement is to cheapen the manufacture of this class of sprinklers, produce a device which is equally as efficient as prior devices, and to so construct the spray-producing parts that the sprinkler can be set or adjusted to produce a iine or coarse spray, as may be desired.

With these ends in View, the invention consists of an interiorly-threaded shell cylindrical throughout its length and provided with a threaded contracted nipple at its lower end, a thin iiat disk-like cap or plate secured to the upper end of said cylindrical shell and having a central perforation, and a periph- @rally-threaded flat plug or disk screwed into the cylindrical shell and provided, within its edges, with the reversely-inclined passages, which lie on opposite sides of the vertical axis of the sprinkler and direct streams or jets of water against the lower horizontal face of the at plate, whereby the whirling body of water within the upper or vortex chamber of the sprinkler is thrown out in all directions from the epening in the flat plate and in the form of a spray, on straight lines inclined to the vertical axis of the sprinkler.

To enable others to more readily understand my invention, I have illustrated the preferred embodiment thereof in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my improved lawn-sprinkler mounted upon a base or stand. Figs. 2 and 3 are vertical sectional views through the sprinkler detached from thev base or stand and showing different adj ustments of the perforated disk therein. Fig. 4 is a horizontal transverse sectional view on a plane indicated by the dotted line a: 0c of Fig. 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are detail cross-sectional views through the plug on the planes indicated by the dotted lines y y and z z, respectively, of Fig. 4l.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings, referring to whichw A designates the lawn-sprinkler constructed in accordance with myinvention, and B is a cast-metal base or stand on which the sprinkler is supported in an elevated position to throw the spray for some distance` all around upon the lawn. Sprinklers constructed and tested by me have shown that water, in either coarse or fine spray, can be thrown and projected a radius of sixteen feet (16') with ordinary pressure from a city main.

The base B is cast in the outline or skeleton form shown, with a head b, in which is fixed the elbow b, to one end of which a line of hose can be coupled while to the vertical branch of the elbow is connected my improved sprinkler; but as the base and elbow do not form any part of the present invention I will not particularly describe the same in the application.

The sprinkler A consists of the cylindrical shell C and the adjustable perforated disk D, which are peculiarly constructed and connected together. In the practical man ufacture of my sprinkler, I cast the shell C in the cylindrical form shown by Figs. 2 andy 3 of the drawings, the lower end of the shell being reduced and tapered to produce the contracted neck c, which is interiorly screwthreaded to receive the upper member of the elbow h. The upper end of this cast shell is open, and before the head or plate E is secured to the cylindrical shell I run or form therein a screw-thread c, which can be easily accomplished by an ordinary thread-cutter. The disk D is cast in a single piece of metal with two transverse passages d CZ', which are situated on opposite sides of the axis of the disk and which are inclined reversely in relation to each other, as clearly indicated by Figs. 2, 3 and 4 of the drawings, the ends of IOO these passages opening through the upper and lower faces of the disk D, as shown. On the periphery of this disk D is cut a screw-thread which enables the disk to be screwed into the threaded cylindrical shell @,whereby the plug or disk is connected to the shell in a manner to secure the necessary close or tight joints and the disk or plug can be adjusted toward or from the head E in a position at all times parallel to said head. This head E is composed of a flat disk-like piece of metal or washer which corresponds substantially to the diameter of the shell C, to which the head is secured,by soldering or in any desired way, after the screw-threads have been cut in the shell and after the plug or disk D has been adjusted or set therein at the desired distance from the open end of the shell according as a fine or coarse spray is desired. A discharge-orifice e is cut in the center of the head E, and through this orifice e, the walls of which are perpendicular to the faces of the head, pass the streams of water after they are discharged from the passages d d into the vortex-chamber F formed by and between the parallel head E, the disk or plug D, and the surrounding wall or shell of the sprinkler.

It will be observed that when the water under pressureis admitted from the supply-pipe into the lower receiving-chamber G of the sprinkler, the water is divided into two streams or jets by passing up and through the diagonal passages d CZ, which, owing to their reversely-inclined positions on opposite sides of the axes of the plug,cause the streams or jets to impinge against the fiat head E at diametrically opposite points and thereby spread or break up the streams or jets in a spray which issues from the discharge-orifice all around the sprinkler.

By making the plug or disk D adjustable vertically within the shell I am able to manufacture the sprinklers so as to produce either a coarse or fine spray.

If the plug is adjusted close up to and parallel with the head E, so as to provide a vortex-chamber F of small depth, as in Fig. 3, the streams or jets issuing from the diagonal passages in the plug will iind considerable resist-ance and break up into a fine spray; but by placing the disk or plug farther down in the shell or away from the head to increase the depth of the vortex-chamber, as in Fig. 2, the streams or jets under pressure will break up into a coarse spray. This adjustment of the plug or disk is determined by the manufacturer before the article is completed by securing the head E to the shell.

I am aware that prior to my invention a lawn-sprinkler had been constructed with a cast-metal shell having an integral diaphragm and with offsets on its external surface, having diagonal passages that open through the integral diaphragm, the upper end of said shell being closed by a crown-shaped cover, of concave-convex form in cross-section, and provided at its highest central point with an outlet-opening. In a sprinkler of this construction the jets or streams of water are project-ed by the diagonal passages against the lower convex face of the crown-shaped cover and the spray issues through the central opening. My sprinkler is distinguished from such prior device in two important respects. First, the upper end of the shell is closed by a flat disk-like plate, and the diagonal passages are provided in a separate plug or disk, which is screwed adjustably within a threaded shell, for the purpose of regulating the coarseness or fineness of the spray. Importance is attached to the employment of a centrally-perforated iiat disk-like plate attached to the upper end of the shell, and to the plug or disk with diagonal passages arranged reversely to each other and adapted to project streams or jets of water against the lower horizontal face of said flat plate, because the water, in the form of spray from the whirling mass of water in the vortexchamber, is caused to issue in straight lines and at greater angles to the vertical axis of the sprinkler than is the case when the sprinkler is provided with a concavo-convex cover, as in the prior device herein disclaimed.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, the lawnsprinkler comprising an interiorly-threaded shell, cylindrical throughout its length, eX- cept at its lower end where it is provided with a contracted threaded nipple, a flat disklike plate fastened to the upper end of the cylindrical shell and having a central discharge-opening, a peripherally-threaded disk or plug screwed in the threaded shell forming a vortex-chamber between itself and the flat plate and provided, within its edge, with the diagonal passages on opposite sides of the vertical axis of the sprinkler, said passages arranged reversely to each other and to direct streams or jets of water across the vortex-chamber and against the horizontal face of the flat plate, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM RuNnQUIsr.

Vitliesses:

G. II. WAYNE, JAMES J. KIRBY.

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